Amateur Movies (not that kind)

ChroniC · 8 Sep 2019 at 15:25

Dirty minds.

No I mean the type that have unknown actors and low budgets. How and why do these get made?
I frequent a few movie websites that have pages and pages of movies that have no bodies in that never maybe make an obscure TV channel and definitely never have general release in cinemas.. Who watches these? How can they be bank rolled if they're not making money? Baffles me.

For instance..

v0n · 8 Sep 2019 at 15:56

Well... every year of every film school around the planet will see thousands of "next big thing" directors released upon the world and at least half of them will start family/crowd/sponsor/grant funding movie projects with writers, actors, DP's they met at school. Sometimes these movies will recoup money when the writers or actors playing in them will make it big, others will eventually get sold for distribution, in bulk, get bundled with "buy DVD player and 1000 movies" for £29.95 or run at 3am on channel 397 in some large hotel chain or listed on some obscure streaming platform blowing through investors money. Or earn £5 a year from adverts on youtube.

I've a friend who's one of those "barely made it to some classes at film school" unfulfilled movie directors, working part time editing trailers and showreels for evangelist churches and living off his mums donations and every decade he gets this sudden awakening and rushes off to make a low budget movie. And I'm talking really low budget - like a "I'm the next Lars von Tier" single £400 DSLR and a Go-Pro, phone headphone set audio recorded horror with run time under 1 hour - that kind of stuff. He then crowd funds sound design and adobe after effects visuals by some student on fiver and then embarks to promote it. And he's really good at the last part. He'll send those "movies" to every film festival on the face of the planet, and you wouldn't believe how many of them there are every year and inevitably he'll start getting awards, sometimes because it is the only movie submitted in Foreign Horror Short Film category, sometimes because some state sponsored C-movie festival somewhere deep in the suburbs Eastern Europe or Asia is actually ecstatic to receive submission from filmmakers in the west and sometimes because some stoned, lofty juror somewhere in South America literally believes the film is so bad and it has to be intentional statement about our media obsessed society. In any case, after 2 or 3 years of submissions and getting awards and being invited to ceremonies around the world with flight and hotel paid, he produces a poster full of laurel overlays "Winner of this", "Special Award from there" for his de-facto award winning, avantgarde horror short, sends it to distro houses and after months of spamming someone somewhere will actually pay money to list it somewhere. And all the best to him. True story.

ChroniC · 8 Sep 2019 at 16:01

What does it cost to make movies like this? I assumed 10s of thousands. Hence why I couldnt understand how these funds were found.

Mr Badger · 8 Sep 2019 at 16:03

v0n said:
Well... every year of every film school around the planet will see thousands of "next big thing" directors released upon the world and at least half of them will start family/crowd/sponsor/grant funding movie projects with writers, actors, DP's they met at school. Sometimes these movies will recoup money when the writers or actors playing in them will make it big, others will eventually get sold for distribution, in bulk, get bundled with "buy DVD player and 1000 movies" for £29.95 or run at 3am on channel 397 in some large hotel chain or listed on some obscure streaming platform blowing through investors money. Or earn £5 a year from adverts on youtube.

I've a friend who's one of those "barely made it to some classes at film school" unfulfilled movie directors, working part time editing trailers and showreels for evangelist churches and living off his mums donations and every decade he gets this sudden awakening and rushes off to make a low budget movie. And I'm talking really low budget - like a "I'm the next Lars von Tier" single £400 DSLR and a Go-Pro, phone headphone set audio recorded horror with run time under 1 hour - that kind of stuff. He then crowd funds sound design and adobe after effects visuals by some student on fiver and then embarks to promote it. And he's really good at the last part. He'll send those "movies" to every film festival on the face of the planet, and you wouldn't believe how many of them there are every year and inevitably he'll start getting awards, sometimes because it is the only movie submitted in Foreign Horror Short Film category, sometimes because some state sponsored C-movie festival somewhere deep in the suburbs Eastern Europe or Asia is actually ecstatic to receive submission from filmmakers in the west and sometimes because some stoned, lofty juror somewhere in South America literally believes the film is so bad and it has to be intentional statement about our media obsessed society. In any case, after 2 or 3 years of submissions and getting awards and being invited to ceremonies around the world with flight and hotel paid, he produces a poster full of laurel overlays "Winner of this", "Special Award from there" for his de-facto award winning, avantgarde horror short, sends it to distro houses and after months of spamming someone somewhere will actually pay money to list it somewhere. And all the best to him. True story.

This. This is the story that needs to be told, the movie that needs to be made.

v0n · 8 Sep 2019 at 17:35

ChroniC said:
What does it cost to make movies like this? I assumed 10s of thousands. Hence why I couldnt understand how these funds were found.

Hundreds if director is good at PR and the script doesn't use too many locations. Thousands of crowdfounders will often splash 50-100 quid for a listing on final credits and name entry as a producer on IMDB Pro. Many young and local actors will work for free or some non existent "dividends from distribution" deal just to have a portfolio and showreel. Someone's best friend will hold microphones. Few hundred quid will buy pretty decent lights on ebay. In terms of equipment - we live in great times - £2500 can get you really good gear to make movies, mk1 of Black Magic Pocket Camera recording in Pro Res with 13 stops was less than £500 at some point. The hardest part is really the post production - the guys that have to spend days on the feature afterwards, editors, sound designers, they will want to be paid something. But the more crew and people the more you look like a real film maker and finding money becomes easier. People will chuck in money into the pot to be part of it, you'll give them production credit and make them a youtube promo for someone's company, shoot barmitzvah, film some council event, include someone's daughter in a spoken scene etc - et voila - a movie slowly fades in with a shot of car dealership in the background, large banner "Everything 50% off" above, spooky music starts, credits start rolling in "Niwbwrch-on-Sea Parish Council" "The Last Rest Funeral Home" "Wonky Docwra Brewery" "and Benevolent Society of Retired Ordnances West Coast Chapter" "in association with Fat Leo's Bar and Disco Club" "presents"

"Silence of the sheep"

10's of thousands that's already relatively nice production with a crew and better technical quality - better camera, mics etc.

Scam · 9 Sep 2019 at 15:57

It's quite simple really. If you want to make it in the industry as a (insert job here) then you will do it for free to get some experience. You generally don't just waltz onto a £200m movie set and get asked to hold the boom. So you team up with like-minded individuals that are trying to get some experience... there will be someone who wants to direct, someone who wants to act, someone who wants to be a writer, someone who wants to edit it. Before you know it, you almost have a crew. Getting people to do the boring stuff like driving to location, supplying the sandwiches etc. is probably a lot harder than someone who wants to learn their craft.

At the 'free' level it's probably easier. It will really get hard when your writing/directing warrants people that can actually act, someone who can actually light a scene well, someone who can actually mix your sound to sound professional. Once people move up the ladder in their career and are beyond working for free it's hard to persuade them. But there are tons of various 'assistants' still in training to do their job 'properly' who will do it on the side for the practice/recognition etc.

ChroniC · 9 Sep 2019 at 22:01

Scam said:
It's quite simple really. If you want to make it in the industry as a (insert job here) then you will do it for free to get some experience. You generally don't just waltz onto a £200m movie set and get asked to hold the boom. So you team up with like-minded individuals that are trying to get some experience... there will be someone who wants to direct, someone who wants to act, someone who wants to be a writer, someone who wants to edit it. Before you know it, you almost have a crew. Getting people to do the boring stuff like driving to location, supplying the sandwiches etc. is probably a lot harder than someone who wants to learn their craft.

At the 'free' level it's probably easier. It will really get hard when your writing/directing warrants people that can actually act, someone who can actually light a scene well, someone who can actually mix your sound to sound professional. Once people move up the ladder in their career and are beyond working for free it's hard to persuade them. But there are tons of various 'assistants' still in training to do their job 'properly' who will do it on the side for the practice/recognition etc.

Do the creators realise their practice is watched by very little people?

Scam · 10 Sep 2019 at 11:25

ChroniC said:
Do the creators realise their practice is watched by very little people?

Of course. But they're honing a craft. As an artist you wouldn't expect to get your first sketch in the National Portrait Gallery would you?

And it's all about who actually watches it. Again, comes down to who you know. Get it in front of the right judges, the right festival circuit and that's how people get their break. Making a short film at the beginning of your career isn't so much about entertaining people, it's about showing your craft and skills off.

MookJong · 10 Sep 2019 at 12:35

v0n said:
Well... every year of every film school around the planet will see thousands of "next big thing" directors released upon the world and at least half of them will start family/crowd/sponsor/grant funding movie projects with writers, actors, DP's they met at school. Sometimes these movies will recoup money when the writers or actors playing in them will make it big, others will eventually get sold for distribution, in bulk, get bundled with "buy DVD player and 1000 movies" for £29.95 or run at 3am on channel 397 in some large hotel chain or listed on some obscure streaming platform blowing through investors money. Or earn £5 a year from adverts on youtube.

I've a friend who's one of those "barely made it to some classes at film school" unfulfilled movie directors, working part time editing trailers and showreels for evangelist churches and living off his mums donations and every decade he gets this sudden awakening and rushes off to make a low budget movie. And I'm talking really low budget - like a "I'm the next Lars von Tier" single £400 DSLR and a Go-Pro, phone headphone set audio recorded horror with run time under 1 hour - that kind of stuff. He then crowd funds sound design and adobe after effects visuals by some student on fiver and then embarks to promote it. And he's really good at the last part. He'll send those "movies" to every film festival on the face of the planet, and you wouldn't believe how many of them there are every year and inevitably he'll start getting awards, sometimes because it is the only movie submitted in Foreign Horror Short Film category, sometimes because some state sponsored C-movie festival somewhere deep in the suburbs Eastern Europe or Asia is actually ecstatic to receive submission from filmmakers in the west and sometimes because some stoned, lofty juror somewhere in South America literally believes the film is so bad and it has to be intentional statement about our media obsessed society. In any case, after 2 or 3 years of submissions and getting awards and being invited to ceremonies around the world with flight and hotel paid, he produces a poster full of laurel overlays "Winner of this", "Special Award from there" for his de-facto award winning, avantgarde horror short, sends it to distro houses and after months of spamming someone somewhere will actually pay money to list it somewhere. And all the best to him. True story.

Lol one of the best things I have read on the internet this year....was like a monologue from a film.

ChroniC · 10 Sep 2019 at 13:15

How do they get on streaming sites? Are the producers doing it for exposure and submitting them themselves?

ttaskmaster · 10 Sep 2019 at 17:07

v0n · 11 Sep 2019 at 22:00

ChroniC said:
How do they get on streaming sites? Are the producers doing it for exposure and submitting them themselves?

You can either get through aggregators - for low profile stuff it would be the likes of Speck or Distribber or try and submit it yourself. Amazon Prime I think still pays 50% for each streaming of your "movie" if in paid bracket or something like 6p per hour of streaming for all the "included in Prime" stuff, it's a fair bit of work to make it Amazon Video Direct ready, you have to provide captions, artwork, metadata, film has to be clean of product placements, should have official rating and stuff, but it's doable.